How to Speed up Import Customs Clearance

Customs clearance of imported goods is the key to the circulation of imported goods into the domestic market. The core issue is whether the customs clearance documents are complete and correct.

The required reporting documents for imported goods include contracts (copies are enough), original packing lists, original invoices, original bills of lading, original entrusted declaration agreements, import declarations and all kinds of documents related to customs supervision conditions. (The client of the entrusted declaration agreement should sign the company's bill, which must be the original, and the fax and copy are invalid for customs declaration. Some companies wasted time and money because they didn't pay attention to this point.  

Upon receipt of the exporter's complete set of import documents, it is necessary to find out which shipping company the imported goods belong to, which ship agent they are, and where they can be exchanged for bill of lading for customs clearance. Contact the shipping company or the shipping agency to determine the time and place of arrival of the ship (if transshipment is required, the name of the second journey vessel should be confirmed), and confirm the time, procedure and fee of exchange of the bill of lading, the original bill of lading with endorsement in advance with the shipping company or the shipping agency (if the goods are delivered by telegram, fax and guarantee letters with telegram bill of lading) Or take a full set of original bills of lading to the shipping company and shipping agency in advance to exchange bills of lading for customs clearance.  

For example, a foreign-funded enterprise imports a container goods from Germany. The consignee of the bill of lading shows: "TO ORDER FO SHIPPER", and the consignor does not endorse the bill of lading. When the ship arrives, it can not exchange the bill of lading, so it has to send the original bill of lading to the German exporter for endorsement. When the endorsed original bill of lading is obtained for declaration of the bill of lading, it has been more than ten days since the ship arrived at the port, resulting in delayed reporting and other expenses.  

Upon receipt of the exporter's complete set of import documents, it is necessary to confirm whether the original invoice, original packing list, bill of lading and the contents of the contract provided by the exporter, such as the name of the goods, shipping marks, number of pieces, gross weight and size, are singly identical. The original invoice and the original packing list should be signed. Of course, some invoices and packing lists can be signed by hand. At the same time, we should confirm the commodity code of the goods, consult the customs rules, confirm the import tax rate, and confirm what supervision conditions the goods need. If we need to report for inspection, we should report to the relevant agencies before customs declaration. Documents required for inspection: application form, box list, invoice, contract and import declaration.  

With a complete set of formalities and correct customs declaration documents, we can speed up customs clearance and avoid the phenomenon of delayed declaration transfer.